Rod Loe, owner of Bumble Bee ATVs in Reedsport, stands in his store on Friday, surrounded by all-terrain vehicle safety equipment and clothing geared toward children and youths. A bill to restrict the use of ATVs has many South Coast retailers concerned. World Photo by Susan Chambers

REEDSPORT - South Coast retailers and businesses are digging in and preparing to fight a bill that could throw sand on what they say is a good thing.

All-terrain vehicle use has grown during the past 20 years - so much so that campgrounds often are nearly full during the winter and the occupants have four-wheeled machines lined up outside the front doors of their tents or RVs. Summertime yields an even greater throng of ATV enthusiasts, and businesses have been reaping the profits.

But some bills wending their way through the Legislature could change all that.

Senate Bill 49 is of the greatest concern to many businesses on the South Coast, even though it also could have an impact on businesses inland that cater to ATVers. Petitions against the bill are on the counters at several local businesses.

The bill, sponsored by Sens. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin; and Alan Bates, D-Ashland, would prohibit operation of ATVs by children under 12 and, based on engine displacement, restrict the use of ATVs ridden by children ages 12 to 15.

“While we are for safety in the ATV industry, the current language of this bill is overly restrictive and creates further safety issues,” Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Katherine Hoppe said in an e-mail to chamber members. “SB49 removes reasons for tourists to visit our area and enjoy ATV activities as a family,” she wrote later in the missive.

The Bay Area Chamber and other chambers on the coast already have sent letters to senators and representatives, in the hopes of changing the bill or stopping it altogether.

Devlin said in an e-mail to Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce 2006 President Mark Bedard in January that SB49 “takes children off adult-size ATVs and thus reducing injury and death.”

He also noted that the ATV Safety Institute already recommends that children between 12 and 16 should ride only 70- or 90-cc ATVs and that those 16 and older should be able to ride the larger ATVs.

Under SB49, the recommendation would, simply, be made a state law.

Wrong way to regulate

ATV dealers argue that making that recommendation law is unreasonable.

Rod Loe, owner of Bumble Bee ATV Sales and Rental in Reedsport, said the requirement doesn't make sense.

Several 90-cc ATVs are parked in his showroom and he points out that on the front fender, the ATV Safety Institute's label indicates the institute's recommendation that children under 12 don't ride the machine. There is a circle with a 󈫼” inside of it and a slash through it.

Loe doesn't dispute goal of the bill, just its methods.

“I can see regulating safety,” Loe said, “but the bill kills (those) under 16 from riding.”

Already, quads are recommended for riders based on the weight of the rider. Regulating by age doesn't work, Loe said.

What many folks don't understand is the environment in which dunes ATVers ride, Loe said.

Riding in the sand requires much more power than riding on dirt, Loe said, and if a 12- to 16-year-old child is on a 70- to 90-cc ATV in the sand, “he can't even get around. It just doesn't do it in the sand.”

Changing demographic

One of the things that most concerns Loe and Bedard is the bill's potential effect on the class of riders who visit the coast: families.

State rules that regulate alcohol use while riding ATVs and the institution of curfews and ATV-only areas have helped foster the growth of an industry that is enjoyed by parents and their children. ATV groups, too, have aided in the effort, sponsoring beach and dunes cleanups, offering training to new riders of all ages and staging contests for riders in separate age classes.

If SB49 passes, Loe predicted, “(The adults) will leave the kids at home and come down,” he said. “It'll be just a big party.”

Creating a family atmosphere is something the Reedsport Chamber, in particular, has made a conscious effort to do.

Dune Fest attracts thousands of riders - of all ages - to the Reedsport/Winchester Bay area in August each year. The event boosts sales of goods and services to businesses from Florence to Coos Bay and adds much-needed revenue to municipal coffers through motel and RV park bed taxes.

The event has changed over the years and the chamber wants it to continue as an opportunity for families - not just adults - to enjoy the dunes.

“(SB49) won't change the number of people attending,” Bedard said, “but it will change the class of people. It will change the whole demographic.”

Children are bill's focus

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's 2005 “Annual Report of ATV-Related Deaths and Injuries,” reviewed by the commission in December 2006, has tracked the industry since the early 1980s.

Though the numbers for 2002-05 are preliminary, the number of deaths between 1999 and 2005 has fluctuated between 398 nationwide to a high of 636 in 2003 and dropped to 467 in 2005 - while the estimated number of 4-wheel ATV use has more than doubled, up from 3.6 million in 1999 to more than 7.6 million in 2005.

The commission's most reliable state-by-state data, for the period 1982-2001, shows that Oregon ranks 26th of all the U.S. states and territories, with 82 deaths during that time. California ranked the highest, with 297, followed by Pennsylvania, with 274; Texas, with 221; Michigan, with 210; and New York, with 207.

But, as Devlin noted in his e-mail to Bedard, the bill's sponsors are most concerned about the children.

The commission's preliminary data for 2005 shows that, nationwide, 120 children younger than 16 died as a result of ATV accidents - the lowest since 1999.

“Children under 16 years of age accounted for about 30 percent of the estimated number of injuries in 2005,” the report said. “Historically, children under 16 have accounted for about 36 percent of the total estimated number of injuries from 1985 through 2005, inclusive.”

What's next?

SB49 was referred to the Business, Transportation and Workforce Development Committee. As of today, it has yet to be scheduled for action.

The chairman of that committee, however, Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Mount Hood, wrote in an e-mail to Hoppe that he agrees it could have drastic effects on local communities.

“Child safety was the intention of SB49, but I believe that the current language is overly restrictive in a number of ways, including the age and engine displacement requirements,” Metsger said in his statement.

Metsger suggested that perhaps engine displacement requirements could be based instead on a rider's height, rather than age.

Another option would be to test the riders, Loe suggested. Already, ATV groups and clubs have training options in place; changing those to required testing would be a simple step.

“Instead of regulating size of the (ATV), regulate the rider's skill level,” Loe said.